China becomes Vietnam's biggest catfish importer

Wednesday, 10 May 2017 07:19

Tra catfish on sale. (Image source: Xufanc/Commons)Vietnam exported US$69.7mn worth of tra fish, a common type of catfish, to China in the first quarter of this year, recording a year-on-year surge of 56.8 percent, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said, noting that the export turnover to China accounted for roughly 19 per cent of the total to the world market

Vietnam earned nearly US$305mn worth of tra fish to China in 2016, nearly doubling that in 2015, and 4.2x higher than 2000.

Chinese demand for tra fish for domestic consumption, especially at hotels, restaurants, schools and enterprises, has recently sharply increased, so Vietnamese companies are intensifying tra fish export to China through border trade, many local entrepreneurs said, adding that they are also seeking ways to export large volumes of the catfish to the neighbor country via big ports.

Vietnam reaped more than US$2.1bn from exporting various kinds of seafood, including tra fish, to the world market in the first four months of this year, up 9 per cent, according to the country's General Statistics Office.